A Freighter Lands Poem by Tony Adah

I heard a foghorn blared from the harbour side
A freighter has arrived;
To mask indolence on my countrymen
His moorings tight and firm
Still a jerking ship in the surfs
Full of what we can get
From our own fields wild with weeds.

The dogma says that all that comes
From Tiko and Limbe is nicer and tastier
Than our mother's soup
So the ship muster men and women
On the harbour-
Soldiers of trade who with great fuss
Pounce on the wares of rice and tomatoes
Onions and snails
Mfi and okazi
And all that will make Watt market swell
And clog and full like sand on the beach
It is so with us
To abandon what's in our backyard
And consume what the freighter brings
Provided it comes from overseas.